Automatic railway-switch.



No. 758,490. I PATBNTED APR. 26,1904. U. A. WOODBURY.

AUTOMATIC RAILWAY SWITCH.

AIPLIOATION I'ILED NOV. 2, 1903.

H0 IODEL.

74 Z fn as 86 Q 7 I r Inrenior:

Vf'anl. TVocZury y'wwm has-Attorney.

in: NORRIS PETERS ca. PHOTOLITHOV. wAsnmaTom u. :4

into the cylinder.

UNITED STATES Patented April 26, 1904'.

I PATENT OFFICE.

AUTOMATIC RAILWAY-SWITCH- SPEGIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 758,490, dated April 26, 1904.

Application filed November 2, 1903. Serial No. 179,430. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, URBAN A. WOODBURY, a citizen ofthe United States, residing at Burlington, in the county of Ohittenden and State of Vermont, have inventednew and useful Improvements in Automatic Railway-Switches, of which the following is a specification.

In the application for Letters Patent of the United States filed by me October 22, 1903, Serial N 0. 178,007, I set forth and claimed an automatic railway-switch mechanism comprising means to cause the'switch when inadvertently left open to be automatically closed by an approaching train, "and in said application I also setforth and claimed means to automatically move the tripo'. 6;, the part adapted to be struck by the train-to inoperative position whenever the switch was manually closed.

Ihave invented modified means for accomplishing the same results as the meansset forth and claimed in said prior application and will now proceed to specifically describe said modified means in connection with the accompanying drawings,the novel features thereof being particularly set forth in the annexed claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is,

a plan view of a switch provided with my improved automatic mechanism, the cylinder being shown in section. vation of the trip device. Fig. 3'is'a perspective view of one part of said trip device, and

rails and terminating in a head 6 free to slide in a cylinder 7 to the'outer end of which is connected the rod 8 runnirig to the switch-' lever 9, which may be .of any of the usual types. In order that the-cylinder may move easily it is preferably supported on a roller 10.

Between the head 6 and the end of the cylinder 7 nearest the switch is placed a coilspring 10, which is normally compressed and tends to force the head 6 and rod 5 farther To maintain said spring under compression, a latch device is provided,

Fig. 2 is a side ole-- held in that position by the short arm of the latch 12. 5 To the long arm of said latch is pivotally connected the trip-rod 15, which. extends along beside the main track for a suitable distance and which may be supported in any usual or desirable way. The free end of said triprod is bent over and rounded ofl, as shown at 16,'for a purpose to be described. Just back of said bent. portion the trip-rod 15 carries a downwardly-projecting lug 17, having transverse projections 18,"which engage the sides of a downwardly-opening slot in a longitudinallymovable member 19 when the trip-rod 15 is passed through-said slot, as shown in Fig.1.

Said longitudiriallymovable member119 is shown in perspective in Fig. 3, and comprises a bar 20,-the central portion of which "horizontally and passes through a cylinder2l supported on one of the ties, which lisusu ably cut away or grooved to receive the same.

The portion of said rod 20 which lies within the cylinder 21 is provided with a collar. 22,

between which and the end of thepylinder nearest the switch is placeda coil compressionspring 23.

After passing through'said end of the cylinder the rod 20 of thelongitudinallymovable member 19 bends upwardlyand is, bifurcated, mergingintothe two. arms 24,

-which curve over into a horizontal plane and are joined at their ends by a cross piece 25,

from which project downward the lugs 26,

forming between them the slot above referred to, in which the end of thetrip-rod is adapted to be engaged; Theother end of the rod 20-is a bracket secured to the under side of the rail 1. To the long arm of said lever'28 is loosely pivoted at 30 the trip 31, comprising, anup- -wardly-extending portion which is adapted to be struck by means carried by the 1000- ,motivesuch, for instance, as the wheel described and shown in my said priorapplica tionthe end of said portion being bent over,

TOG

9O bent downwardly and is pivoted at 27 to the short arm of a lever 28, itself pivoted at 29 to as shown at 32, and normally extending into the bifurcation in the longitudinally-movable member 19, so as to be directly over the end of the trip-rod 15, the other end of the trip 31 being formed into a counterweight 33, which normally maintains the upwardly-extending portion of the trip in position to be struck by the aforesaid wheel on the locomotive unless said wheel is withdrawn from operative position by the engineer. Beneath the end of said counterweight 33 is placed an incline or cam 34, which acts to raise the counterweight end of the trip when the lever 28 carries the same rearwardly, as will be hereinafter more fully described.

Near its end adjacent to the switch-rod the trip-rod 15 carries a downwardly-extending projection, preferably in the form of an antifriction-roller, (shown in dotted lines at in Fig. 1,) which bears against an inclined camsurface 36. (Shown as a bolt projecting obliquely from the side of the adjacent rail.) The end of said bolt is bent around and extends backward for a short distance, presenting a cam-surface 37 parallel to the cam-surface 36. Breakable means similar to that described in my said prior application may be plrovided to normally hold the trip-rod in the s ot.

The operation of the parts as above described will now be explained. Assuming first that the switch has been left open and a train approaches on the main line with the means carried by the locomotive in operative position to strike the trip, the result will be that the trip-rod 15 is knocked out of the slot in the longitudinally-movable member 19, the spring 10 expands, pulling switch-rod 5 over to close the switch and in so doing swings latch 12 and lever 14 on their respective pivots. The switch is now closed while the switch-lever is still at the open-switch position, so that the next operation will be to swing the switch-lever over to the closed-switch position, which will recompress the spring 10 and permit the resetting of the lever 14 and latch 12 and the replacing of the trip-rod 15 in the slot in the member 19. When these parts are thus set, it will be seen that the connection between the switch-lever 9 and the switch-rod 5 is practically rigid,so that the switch can be thrown in either direction by hand in exactly the same way as if the switch-rod extended to the switch-lever 9 without a break. Now suppose the parts to be in the position shown in Fig. 1 and the switch-lever to be operated to close the switch. This is the movement which causes the trip 31 to be moved to inoperative position, as above stated, and it does so by means of the mechanism hereinbefore described, the action being as follows: The switch-rod 5 and cylinder 7 move together. Consequently the latch 12 and the end of the trip-rod connected to the same also move an equal amount in the same direction. By reason of the engagement of the roller 35 with the cam-surface 36 the trip-rod 15 also moves longitudinally toward the switch-rod. The member 19 being in engagement with the lateral projections 18 on the trip-rod moves in the same direction with the trip-rod, the spring 23 is compressed and the lever 28 swung on its pivot,the result of which is to carry the trip 31 bodily in the opposite direction and elevate the counterweighted end of the trip, which slides up the cam or incline 34:. The front end 32 of the trip is now no longer over the end of the trip-rod, but has passed out from between the bifurcated portions 2 1 down onto the rod 20.

A word may be said here as to the relative amounts of movement of the parts. The camsurface 36 should be inclined so as to make the longitudinal movement of the triprod only one-third or one-fourth of its lateral movement, and the length of the trip-carrying arm of the lever 28 should be three or four times that of the other arm of said. lever. Assuming, for example, that the movement of the switchrod to close the switch is four inches, the longitudinal movement of the trip-rod caused by the cam 36 one inch, and that the proportion of the arms of the lever 28 is three to one, then when the trip-rod and member 19 move one inch in one direction the end 32 of the trip will move three inches in the other direction, making a total relative movement of four inches, which will be amply sufficient to withdraw the end of the trip from the slot in the member 19 and to lower the said end to or below the level of the top of the rail, where it will no longer be in position to be struck by the trip-wheel on the locomotive. Of course it will be understood that the relative proportions mentioned above may be varied, as found desirable, so as to give the trip a greater or less relative movement; but it will be found advantageous to keep the longitudinal movement of the trip-rod under the influence of the cam 36 as small as possible, because such movement permits the latch 12 to swing on its pivot when the switch is pulled over to the closed position, and thereby the spring 10 is allowed to expand slightly. By making the proportion of the arms of the latch 12 sufiiciently large this expansion may be limited to a small fraction of an inch. For example, where the trip-rod moves longitudinally one inch, as assumed above, if the proportion of the latch-arms is three to one the expansion of the spring will be only one-third of an inch, and this may be even further reduced by lessening the obliquity of the cam 36 and by increasing the proportion of the latch-arms. Now on the return movementz'. 6., when the switch is thrown open by the lever 9-the spring 23 expands and draws the member 19 and the trip-rod 15 back to their former positions,reelevating the trip 31 to operative position above the end of the trip-rod. In order that come disengaged from the short arm of the the spring 23 may be able to do this, it must be of suflicient strength to recompress the spring lOthrough the same distance that it was previously permitted to expand, which would be'one-third of an inch in the example given. Said spring'need not, however, be actually as strong as said spring 10, because the unequal arms of the latch 12give it a leverage three or more times as great as the leverage of the spring 10, and, further, the cam-surface 37, above described, assists said spring to render certain the return of the trip-rod and connected parts to operative position, said surface extending back parallel to the surface 36 far enough to give to the trip-rod an initial return movement, but not so far as to interfere with the movement of the trip-rod when the automatic mechanism is discharged by a train striking the trip 31. Now suppose the switch to be open, as shown in Fig. 1, and a train to pass through iton the main .track from the. heel side. The rod 5 will of course be moved over by the camming action of the wheel-flanges on the rail 2. The cylinder 7 remains stationary, owing to its rigid connection. with the switch-lever 9, which remains locked in the open-switch position, and the pressure of the pin 14 on the lever 11 and of said lever on the short arm'of the latch 12 will cause said lever and latch to swing on their respective pivots, whichwill have the effect of drawing the trip-rod 15 toward the switch-rod, compressing spring 23. Before the switch-rod has completed its movement the nose of the lever 14 will preferably belatch', and the spring 10 will then hold the switch over in the closed position. The parts will then have to be reset, as before described. Finally, suppose the switch to be closed and a train to run off the siding. In that case the rod 5 will be moved in the direction to carry the pin 11 away from the lever 14, compressing the spring l0, which will reexpand and leave the switch closed, as before, when the train has passed. 1

In Fig. 4 I have illustrated an embodiment of my invention inxwhich the trip-rod is provided with an intermediate yielding portion, which yields like the spring 23 of Fig. 1 to permit the switch-rod to move when the rail 2 is cammed over by a train running through the switch from the heel and which may also be used as a substitute for the second spring in the cylinder described and claimed in my said prior application'or in place of the torsion-spring provided for that purpose in the type of switch known as the Ramopo switch. This form of my invention may be used in connection with the mechanism for moving and holding the trip in inoperative position shown, described, and claimed in my said prior application or with a trip device unprovided with means for automatically moving it to 1noperative position when the switch 1s closed.

In said Fig. 4, 1 represents one of the mainline rails, and 3 one of the switch-rails. 5 is the switch-rod, 6 the head on said rod, 7 the cylinder, 8 the connection leading to the switch-lever, 10 the springin the cylinder, 11 the pin or projection on the switch-rod, 13 the bracket on the cylinder, and 40 the supporting-roller for the cylinder, all the same as in Fig. 1. Thelatch 42, pivoted on the bracket 18, is shaped as shown so that the inner face of its longer arm normally lies insubstantially the same vertical plane as the adjacent side of the pin 11 for a purpose to be explained. The long arm of said latch is engaged by the end of a dog 48, pivoted on the switch-rod, to which dog the trip-rod is connected. The operation would, however, 'be unchanged if the trip-rod were directly connected to the. latch, as in the form shown in Fig. 1, and in the same way a dog similar to. the dog 48 might be employed in said form of Fig. 1 without eifecting any material change in the result.

The trip-rod in Fig 4 comprises two alined portions 43 and 45, having a yieldablev telescopic connection-as, for example, a head 44 on the portion 43, a yoke 47 on the portion 45, surrounding the headed end of the portion 43,

and a coil-spring 46, placed between the head 44 and the inner face of the outer end of the yoke 47 It will be seen that the spring 46 has three or more times the movement about the pivot of the latch 12 that the spring 10 has, and therefore, although the former is actually consid- 'erably weaker than the latter, the spring 10 will nevertheless be unable to overcome the spring 46, so that when the parts are set, as shown, ready to be automatically discharged the spring 10 will be held compressed by the spring 46, which isthen expanded as much as the yoke 47 and head 44 will permit.

In theordinary operation of switching there is no change in the relative positions of the cylinder, switch-rod, latch, and trip-rod from those shown; but when the trip-rod is released by a train striking the trip device the spring 10-expands and the latch 42 andlever 48 swing on their pivots, the operation being exactly similar to that described above in connection with Fig. 1. When the switch-rod is moved to close the switch by the wheels of a train, pin 11 swings latch 42 on its pivot, the dog 48 and rod 43 permitting this by reason of the yielding of the spring 46, and this swinging movement of'the latch will preferably be sufiicient to cause the disengagement-thereof from thedog 48, the spring 10 being then permitted to expand and close the switch. The dog and latch, however, may, if. desired, be so constructed as to remain in engagement, and in that case the spring 46 must be strong enough to recompress the spring 10 and return the switch tothe open position after the train has passed. I prefer, however, to have the dog and latch disengage, and the ends thereof are shown slightly rounded over for that purpose.

When the switch is closed and a train runs off the siding, the rod 5 carries the pin 11 away from the short arm of the latch 42 and the dog 48 out of engagement with the long arm of the latch. The latter, however, is prevented from swinging on its pivot because the pin 11 engages the inner face of its long arm. Thus the latch is held in position to be reengaged by the dog when the switch-rod returns the switch to the closed position.

Having thus described certain embodiments of my invention and without restricting myself to the precise forms or dimensions shown, what I claim is 1. The combination with a railway-switch, of automatic means adapted and arranged to be operated by a train to close the same, means to normally maintain said automatic means out of operation, said last-mentioned means being constructed to yield when a train runs through the open switch from the heel side thereof, substantially as set forth;

2. The combination with a railway-switch, of a spring adapted and arranged to close the same, a latch to normally maintain said spring energized, a rod to normally maintain said latch in operative position, a trip device adapted and arranged to be operated by a train to release said rod, and a spring to permit said rod to yield when a train on the main line passes through the open switch from the heel side thereof, substantially as set forth.

3. In a railway-switch,the combination with a switch-rod and a switch-lever, of a spring adapted and arranged to move the rod relatively to the lever, a latch to normally hold said rod and lever connected and said spring compressed, a trip device arranged to be operated by a train, and connections between said latch and said trip device comprising a yielding element to permit relative movement of said rod and lever when atrain runs through the open switch from the heel side thereof, substantially as set forth.

4:. In a railway-switch,the combination with a switch-rod and a switch-lever, of a spring adapted and arranged to move said rod relatively to said lever, a latch to normally connect said rod and lever and hold said spring energized, a trip-rod connected to said latch, means to normally hold said trip-rod against longitudinal movement and thereby cause said latch to maintain the connection between the switch rod and lever, a trip adapted and arranged to be operated by an approaching train to release said trip-rod from said means, and a spring adapted and arranged to permit said trip-rod to yield longitudinally when a train runs through the open switch from the heel side thereof, substantially as set forth.

5. The combination with a railway-switch, and means whereby the same may be operated manually as usual, of a spring adapted and arranged to close the switch independently of said means, a latch to normally maintain said spring inoperative, a trip adapted and arranged to be struck by an approaching train, a trip-rod connected to said latch at one end, means'adjacent to the other end of said triprod to normally hold it against longitudinal movement, said 'trip being adapted and arranged to release said trip-rod from said holding means, and a spring to permit said triprod to yield when a train runs through the open switch from the heel side thereof, substantially as set forth.

6. In a railway-switch,the combination with a switch-rod and a lever whereby the same may be operated manually as usual, of a cylinder rigidly connected to said lever and inclosing the end of said rod, a spring interposed between a head on said rod and the adjacent end of the cylinder, a latch device adapted and arranged to engage a projection on said rod and maintain said spring compressed, a trip-rod to hold said latch device in engagement with said projection, means to hold said trip-rod against movement by said spring, a trip adapted and arranged to be operated by a train to release said trip-rod from said holding means, and a spring to permit said trip-rod to yield when a train runs through the open switch from the heel side thereof, substantially as described.

7. In a railway-switch, the combination with a switch-rod and a switch-lever, of a cylinder to which said lever is rigidly connected and to which said rod is yieldingly connected, means to rigidly connect said rod and cylinder, a trip device adapted and arranged to be operated by a train, and connections between said trip device and means comprising a yielding element to permit said switch-rod to yield when a train runs through the open switch from the heel side thereof, substantially as set forth.

8. In a railway-switch, the combination of a switch-rod having a head on the end thereof, a longitudinally-movable cylinder in which said head is slidably mounted, a spring interposed between said head and the end of said cylinder, a switch-lever rigidly connected to the other end of said cylinder, a projection on said rod, a latch pivoted on said cylinder and adapted to engage said projection to keep said spring compressed, a trip-rod and means to hold the same against longitudinal movement to maintain said latch in operative position, a trip adapted and arranged to be operated by a train to release said trip 'rod from said holding means, and a spring to permit said trip-rod to yield and release said latch when a train runs through the open switch from the heel side thereof, substantially asset forth.

9. In a railway-switch, the combination of a switch-rod and a switch-lever, a spring adapted and arranged to move said rod relatively to said lever, a latch positively connected to said lever and adapted and arranged to engage a projection on said rod to maintain said spring energized, adog pivotall y mounted on said rod and adapted to engage said latch, a trip-rod connected to said latch, means to hold said triprod against longitudinal movement, a trip adapted and arranged to be operated by a train to release said trip-rod and thereby permit said dog and latch to release said spring, said latch being adapted and arranged to be maintained in operative position by said projection when the switch-rod is moved by a train running from the siding onto the main line through the closed switch, substantially as set forth.

10. The combination with a railway-switch and a switch-lever, of a spring to close said switch independently of said lever, a latch to normally maintain said spring energized, a trip adapted to be struck by a train, a lever pivotally mounted adjacent one of the mainline rails and carrying said trip on one end thereof, a longitudinally movable member pivotally connected to the other end of said lever, a trip-rod having one end connected to said latch, means onsaid member to engage the other end of said trip-rod, said trip being adapted and arranged to release said trip-rod from said member when struck by a train, a spring to normally hold said member against longitudinal movement, and a cam to cause said trip-rod to move longitudinally when the switch is thrown by said switch-lever, whereby said trip will be moved to inoperative position when the switch is manually closed and replaced in operative position when the switch is manually opened, substantially as set forth.

11. The combination with a railway-switch and a switch-lever, of automatic means to close said switch independently of said lever, a latch to normally maintain said means inoperative, a trip-rod connected to said latch at one end and extending alongside one of the main-line rails, a longitudinally-movable member having means to engage the other end of said trip-rod, a spring to hold said member against longitudinal movement, a lever pivoted adjacent to said main-line rail and having one end pivotally connected to said member, a trip pivotally mounted on the other end of said lever, one end thereof being arranged to release said trip-rod from said member when struck by a train, the other end of said trip being counterweighted, an inclined cam-surface under said counterweighted end, and an inclined cam surface arranged to engage means on said trip-rod and cause the same to move longitudinally when the switch is thrown by said switch-lever, whereby said trip will be moved out of position to release said triprod and also lowered out .of position to be struck by a train whenever the switch is manually closed and will be replaced in operative position whenever the switch is manually opened, substantially as set forth.

lugs between which said trip-rod is adapted to pass and be held by said lateral projections against longitudinal movement, a lever pivoted adjacent to one of themainline rails and having one end connected to said longitudiually-movable member, a collar on said member, a cylinder in which said collar is slidably mounted, a spring surrounding said member in said cylinder and pressing against said collar to hold said member against longitudinal movement and thereby maintain said lever substantially upright, a trip pivotally supported on the other end of said lever and having one end adapted to pass through a slot in said member immediately over the end of said trip-rod, whereby when said trip is struck by a train said trip-rod will be released from said member, a counterweight on the other end of, said trip, an inclined cam-surface under said counterweighted end of said trip, and an inclined cam-surface adapted and arranged to engage means on said trip-rod to move the same longitudinally when the switch is thrown by the switch-lever, whereby the trip will be withdrawn from over the trip-rod and depressed out of the way of the train whenever the switch is manually closed and replaced and raised whenever the switch is manually opened, substantially as set forth.

"13. The combination with a railway-switch and a switch-lever, of automatic means to close saidswitch independently of said lever, a latch to maintain said means energized, a trip-rod connected with said latch, a lever pivoted adjacent to one of the main-line rails to one end of which said trip-rod is detachably connected, a trip pivotally supported on the other end of said lever and adapted, when struck by a train, to break the connection between said lever and trip-rod, a spring to hold said triprod against longitudinal movement and thereby normally maintain said levers ubstantially upright, an inclined cam-surface arranged to engage means on said trip-rod and move the same longitudinally when the switch is closed manually, whereby said trip will be moved out of operative position, and a short parallel cam-surface arranged to engage the other side of said means on the trip-rod to give the same an initial longitudinal movement in the opposite direction when the switch is mannally opened, said last-mentioned cam-surface not extending far enough to prevent the longitudinal movement of said trip-rod when the connection between said trip-rod and said lever is broken and the switch automatically closed, substantially as set forth.

14. In a railway-switch, the combination of a switch-rod having a head on one end, a longitudinally-movable cylinder in which said head is slidably mounted, a coil-spring surrounding said rod between said head and the end of the cylinder, a switch-lever rigidly connected to said cylinder, a lever pivoted on said cylinder, a projection on said rod adapted to be engaged by said lever, a latch pivoted on said cylinder and adapted to engage said lever, a trip-rod connected to said latch at one end and having lateral projections near the other end, a longitudinally-movable member having on one end downwardly-projecting lugs adapted to engage said projections, a lever pivoted'adjacent to one of the main-line rails and having one arm connected to the other end of said longitudinally-movable member, a spring to normally prevent longitudinal movement of said member and maintain said lever substantially upright, a trip pivotally mounted on the other arm of said lever and having one end adapted to slide in an upwardly and horizontally extending slot in said member and to release said trip-rod from said member when said trip is struck by a train,

the other end of said trip being formed into a counterweight, an inclined cam-surface under said counterweighted end, an antifrictionroller on said trip-rod and parallel cam-surfaces arranged to engage said roller on opposite sides thereof, one of said surfaces extending only for a portion of the path of travel of said roller, whereby when the switch is manually closed the trip will be moved backward and downward out of operative position and when the switch is opened again the trip will be moved forward and raised to operative position, whereby the switch will be automatically closed when the trip is struck by a train and whereby said trip-rod and latch can yield when a train runs through the open switch from the heel side thereof, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

URBAN A. VVOODBURY.

Witnesses:

ORRIN C. HUGHES, T. P. OBRXEN. 

